Su

I tracked mine for a year because I had the same suspicion. The base earn rate on points came out under one percent of what I spent, which is worth having and is not worth planning your week around. The member-only prices were a different story and were worth several times the points - but only on a handful of items, and only when I would have bought them anyway. Once I subtracted fuel for the extra trips, the whole multi-shop routine was roughly break-even and cost me two hours a week.

The 'fixed claim on income' framing is what I was missing. Makes the certainty side feel less like a soft factor.

Checked and it's APR on a reducing balance, so 4.1% is the real number. Good thing to flag though.

I used substantially equal periodic payments for a while and I would not choose it again at 52 with your balances. It works, it removes the penalty, and it also locks you into a payment schedule that you break at real cost, which is exactly the flexibility you are retiring to get. It made sense when it was the only door available to me. With a taxable account holding several years of spending, you have better doors.

Don't sell, just stop buying. Redirect all new money into the cheaper fund and let the other one sit. You keep the tax deferred, the fee difference on existing holdings is usually small in absolute terms, and over a few years the cheaper fund becomes the majority of the position anyway.

Run the actual numbers before deciding, though. If the fee gap is 0.03% versus 0.05% on a £40k holding, that's £8 a year and absolutely not worth realising a gain over. If it's 0.05% versus 0.55%, that's a different conversation entirely.

Yes. £39 a year against a tax bill today is an easy no. Revisit if you ever have a year with low income or capital losses to offset.

Nine clients from one referrer is actually a strong signal, not a weak one. It means your work is good enough that someone stakes their reputation on it repeatedly. Worth asking each of those nine for one introduction - you have social credit with them you're not spending.

The gross vs profit distinction is what I've been getting wrong in my head. I've been thinking of the payout as the number that matters.

Quick way to confirm: check the fund's name or ISIN. Accumulating classes usually have Acc, C, or similar in the name; distributing ones have Inc or Dist. Same underlying fund, two wrappers.